


A Tumble with Fate

by defiasstone2



Category: Spiderman - Fandom, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:54:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3799219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defiasstone2/pseuds/defiasstone2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the closing moments of his fight in the clock tower at the end of TASM2, Peter Parker makes a snap decision that causes the outcome of that fateful night to turn out very differently... A 'How it should have ended' one shot for those Gwen Stacy fans out there!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Battling in The Bell tower

**Warning: This fic contains spoilers relating to the movie The Amazing Spiderman 2, so if you haven’t watched it yet, consider yourself warned to desist until you have.**

All in all, this fucked up day was trying its utmost to oust his parent’s disappearance as the worst day of his life, Peter Parker thought as he threw himself at his former best friend turned maniac for the fourth time in their little encounter. First there had been the fight with Electro, who seemed to think that just because Peter hadn’t been able to remember every single person he had saved straight away, Spiderman needed to die. Who thinks like that?

 

Then after defeating him with the help of Gwen, who was obviously picking up his hero complex when she slammed a police car of all things into the ridiculously powerful being made of electricity, Harry Osborn turns up on a freaking hoverboard and kidnaps Gwen to get back at him for not giving him his blood that MIGHT have saved his life or simply killed him outright. The ensuing conflict inside the clocktower was made extra difficult by the fact that he was having to protect Gwen at the same time as fight Harry, whose armour seemed to give him durability and strength that might even surpass Peter’s own spider like powers.

 

Grappling with Harry after latching onto him from behind, Peter really didn’t appreciate it when he was slammed backwards into the wall of the bell tower, though he used the fact that Harry seemed momentarily disoriented to jump past him and swing round on one of the threads that he had placed earlier, increasing his momentum into a drop kick that knocked Harry off his hoverboard. His sense of triumph was dashed as the hoverboard careened downwards, smashing through the intricate array of cogs below that Gwen had been traversing.

 

Even as she began to fall screaming, Peter fired one of his web shooters with pinpoint accuracy to catch her by the arm, it looked like he might have jarred it by her pained cry but better that than the 10 storey drop. Pulling her up as quickly as he could, Peter was cut off by Harry’s return to the fight, the Green Goblin taking advantage of his distraction to pin him to the cog they were standing on and brandishing a knife that he obviously intended to use. Even as Harry leaned back Peter was very aware of the fact that the thread he was currently supporting Gwen on was now at risk of being caught between the cogs as the clock continued to tick despite the damage the pair had already caused to its mechanism.

 

The chances of him fighting Harry off and managing to extract Gwen at the same time in the precious seconds that remained was very unlikely, Peter’s thoughts running at a mile a minute as he tried to conceive a way out of this terrible situation. It came to him as he dodged Harry’s first strike with the knife and the crazed man leaned back to strike again, shifting his centre of gravity just high enough. To push an opponent off you when they were directly resisting was very difficult, especially if they were as strong if not stronger than you, which is why Peter instead shifted his body weight into a roll.

 

With the shift of intent catching Harry by surprise the Green Goblin’s strength was being used in the wrong direction, his centre of gravity allowing for that crucial motion that caused the pair of them to careen off the edge of the cog, Peter focussing on his right hand and ensuring that he managed to loop the web around the cog tooth in order to act as a pulley even as he fell. His distraction cost him as he didn’t notice Harry’s next knife strike, burying the blade deep in his left shoulder even as the madman's mind finally caught up with the fact they were falling downwards.

 

The pain brought Peter’s senses to a clarity he hadn’t encountered before, his left hand retaining just enough movement to reach out and grab Gwen as she past, the resulting force of being pulled in two separate directions making him scream in pain as they jolted to a stop, part way down the belltower. The jerking motion, combined with his addled senses, jolted Harry to lose his grip with his free arm on Peter, his other hand grasping the knife as his weight tore the blade from Peter’s body, opening the deep wound even further. Time seemed to stop for a moment as Peter struggled to keep a grip on Gwen who was now covered in his blood from the wound as his gaze met Harry’s.

 

The man he once called best friend still had that manic gleam on his face, but within Harry’s eyes Peter could still make out a small spark of his old friend, asking, begging for him to save him just once more... But there was nothing Peter could do, his left arm was now completely useless and his right was the only thing keeping him and Gwen from falling as well, so with agonising slowness he saw his friend fall backwards, striking the far wall about halfway down with nary a cry. Suddenly there was a shifting motion above them and Peter was forced to think about themselves instead, a quick glance showing they had mere seconds before the cog moved again and the web would snap.

 

“Gwen, my left hand, the wall!” Thankfully his words seemed to jar Gwen from her shock and her beautiful brain seemed to understand what he wanted as she wrapped her legs around his waist and grasped his left arm with her right and pointed it at the wall, moving her hand down his arm as fast as she could to where his hand was without letting go. Just when she was about to reach it the cog moved again and then they were falling downwards. Peter brought his right arm down and fired a web off to the other wall even as Gwen managed to activate the other webshooter, the two webs bringing them to a quick stop. They were frozen for a moment before Gwen hugged herself to him, causing him to hiss in pain once more.

 

“Sorry, Peter that was incredible...” Even as tears of relief started to fall from her face, Peter couldn’t help but wonder if she was right. Looking down at the motionless body of Harry Osborn below them, Peter wondered whether the blood that was on his hands now due to his actions could truly be considered good in any way shape or form...

 

**A/N: So there it is, my ‘how it should have ended’ version of The Amazing Spiderman 2. From the first movie I knew Gwen Stacy was going to die sooner or later given comic canon, but I must admit Emma Stone made her that much more of a wonderful character than Mary Jane had been in the original movie series, so I couldn’t let her die even if her death is one of the main drivers behind Spiderman’s continued fight for justice.**

**Not that it matters as this is merely a fanfic, but I have left it open so that instead of Gwen’s death it is Harry’s that Peter will have on his conscience (assuming that Harry is actually dead and that the impact part way down as well as his armour don’t prevent that), which opens up an entirely different realm of story arcs to be followed...**

**  
Let me know what you think guys, I hope there are other Gwen Stacy fans out there that didn’t want it to end this way like me! **


	2. The Funeral

Funerals always seemed to take place in the rain and the one for Harry Osborn, disgraced heir of the Osborn fortune and responsible for the 37 deaths that had occurred during his and Electro’s rampage, was no exception. It was the light but persistent drizzle that whilst not as powerful as the heavier rainstorm that had occurred at Captain Stacy’s the year before, made clothing heavy and drenched within minutes and the general mood amongst the few attendees of the funeral even more solemn than it might have been otherwise.

 

It was strange to be stood at the front of a funeral for someone who whilst publically being Peter’s best friend had died trying to kill him and Gwen. Peter knew he shouldn’t feel guilty about not saving Harry, if the positions had been reversed the Osborn heir wouldn’t have waited even a moment before harvesting his blood to use in an attempt to cure himself.

 

But as Gwen had pointed out on the second sleepless night Peter had appeared at her window crying silent tears, the fact that Peter cared so much about Harry’s death was what made him the hero Spiderman had become to the people of New York, The Daily Bugle editor and his rants about ‘the masked hooligan’ aside.

 

So the pair of them stood there in the cold and thanked the attendees for coming when it was all over, mainly distant relatives and officials who were primarily interested in the Osborne fortune rather than the now deceased family. Despite being a prime contributor to Harry’s death, Peter felt even more disgust for these people than he did for himself, if these people had actually cared about Harry as much as they tried to claim now then perhaps he would not have felt so isolated by his father’s lack of parenting.

 

But Peter held it all in, determined to let his friend’s passing remain peaceful and without incident. Finally they all left, even Aunt May who had given him one of her usual hugs and asked Gwen to get him home safe, the woman understanding quite how much this moment meant for the two of them without either of them saying anything.

 

Stood alone amongst the gothic mausoleums in which family’s like the Osborns had been buried for centuries, Peter was surprised when Gwen spoke up before he had a chance to, her normally well kept hair matted and sticking to her in a manner that made him smile slightly despite the mood.

 

“I know what you are going to say Peter and no, I am not going to break up with you whatever argument you try and use to persuade me this time.” That hadn’t actually been what he had been going to talk about, despite the fact he had seen a manifestation of Captain Stacey twice that day already, the man looking a mixture of furious and disappointed at him with his ghostly visage, but now she had brought up the elephant in the room as it were Peter decided now was as good a time as any.

 

“I wasn’t actually as I knew you would refuse as you say and I respect your opinion, but Gwen you almost died tonight because of me, at least once directly because of me.” The hover board careening into the cogs Gwen was stood on came to the forefront of his mind and Peter had to admit his dreams had been plagued with nightmares about how the situation could have ended up.

 

Gwen finally looked away from Harry’s tomb, her one visible eye meeting his gaze before she coughed slightly and quickly used her free hand to clear her hair from covering her face, glaring pointedly at him when he chuckled at her embarrassment and slapping him lightly on the arm.

 

“And if I hadn’t helped you how many others would have died that night? What about you? If we are getting into how many times you were nearly killed due to you being...” Gwen cut off from her rather pointed accusation when the sounds of people approaching, a middle aged man with thin glasses and an affable look striding up the small rise of the cemetery towards them, two men fitting the stereotype of bodyguards standing on either side of him imperiously.

 

“Mr Peter Parker?” The man called out in a way that made it clear that whilst it seemed to be a question there was no way he didn’t know who Peter was. Wondering what this was about, Peter nodded slowly whilst stepping out subtly in front of Gwen, whilst his Spider Sense wasn’t tingling yet better to be safe than sorry.

 

“That’s me, I’m sorry but what is this about? Could it perhaps wait until another day as now really isn’t a good time.” Peter meant the argument he was having once again with Gwen as he liked to think he did enough lying about the whole superhero thing, but if the man took it that he meant the funeral he didn’t need to correct him specifically right?

 

Unfortunately/fortunately the man nodded and with a gesture one of the bodyguards moved forwards to use his umbrella to cover the pair of them whilst the man reached into his coat. Edgey was definitely a word Peter would use to describe his feelings as he desperately tried to stop his instincts from leaping into action at a possible threat, but he relaxed a moment later when the man pulled a card and an envelope from his pocket, previous easygoing smile gone from his face as he held the two out for him.

 

“Yes I apologise about the timing but it took sometime to sort all the paperwork out and to get the Police to unfreeze everything before we could verify it all.” The questioning look on Peter’s face obviously was clear enough as the man sighed and gestured with the paper once more.

 

“Your friend Mr Osborn was a very affluent man Mr Parker, especially after the passing of his father and taking over the Osborn businesses and estates, and well despite all of this...” The man waved into the air a little awkwardly and Peter realised he meant the events surrounding Harry’s death.

 

“The loss of directorship and his subsequent troubles do not make the Will that he had made a year prior to this invalid, as he was known to have been of sound mind then, or at least as sane as any of the Osborn’s I have dealt with in my time...” It was at that point that Peter realised with a start quite what this meeting was about as he reached up with a trembling hand to take the offered envelope.

 

Harry had always joked at college that Peter had been the closest thing he had ever had to a brother and that he thought of the Parker household as home more than he had ever thought of Osborn Estate, but Peter had always assumed that was his friend trying to be nice. Ripping open the envelope Peter unfolded the wad of papers with the sort of disbelief that came when people heard they won the lottery, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

 

But his eyes quickly confirmed that yes this was in Harry’s handwriting, yes that was his name given as the primary and pretty much only beneficiary and that was Harry’s signature written along the bottom in its usual almost lazy scrawl. His eyes darted up as the man gave a small cough, surprise obvious on his face.

 

“Mr Parker, I take it from your expression that Mr Osborn didn’t tell you that he had named you as his sole beneficiary and heir? Perhaps we would be better discussing the implications back at the office?” Glancing across at Gwen who seemed as shocked to silence as he was, Peter could only nod once more before following the man as he turned and began a purposeful stride down the hill once more.

 

This was going to be a hell of a long day...

 

**A/N: Whilst I said it was just a one-shot, I couldn’t resist the urge to add in this little teaser to see what people think. To be honest, whether or not this would have ever happened in the Spiderman universe?**

**I doubt it as Norman Osborn is either alive or Harry grows to dislike Peter but in the movie universe Harry only starts to hate Peter after his mental breakdown and discovering he is dying. At that point writing a new will really isn’t the first thing that springs to a madman's mind, more they focus on whatever it is drove them mad.**

**Peter being the main beneficiary of the Will? Peter is often quoted as Harry’s best friend before the whole Spiderman thing, to the point that Harry reveals confidential and rather frightening information to Peter that the company and his father have been keeping tabs on him. That is not something you just reveal to any old friend or acquaintance. And Harry is oft mentioned as a mixture of envious/grateful for the way that the Parker household runs, thinking of it as his home.**

**This would definitely give a new spin on the whole Spiderman universe, I wouldn’t have Peter become like Bruce Wayne and actually run the company, he doesn’t have the training or the temperament for that. But having access to a large personal fortune would definitely make things like flying over to England to see Gwen easier no? Or getting the materials to create some new upgrades for his suit?**

**Let me know what you think!**

**  
Defias Out! **


	3. The English Trip

It had been 6 months, 6 months since his best friend died and named him head of Oscorp as a big 'Fuck you!' to Osborn senior and the Oscorp board, or at least that is what the papers claimed. As he finished his coke, Peter couldn't help but think that Harry would have found the way his death messed with everyone's plans,not the least his own more than slightly ironic.

"Director Parker, we have landed perfectly and they are just towing us to your hangar, is there anything else I can do for you?" The voice of Felicia brought Peter's attention away from the wall which he had been pondering, Harry's former assistant still shocked him at times with how she could creep up on him without him noticing, but given what he knew of her rather chequered past such lightfootedness wasn't overly surprising.

"Grab yourself a drink Felicia, you have been working the entire flight over here despite this not being company time, this is a break for you as well as me remember?" Ever since Peter had first stepped into the Oscorp board room he had been relentless in his investigation as to what had lead Harry to becoming the madman he had been when he fell from the tower, and such digging had not gone over well with the other members of the board.

"If you insist sir, though I don't want to give Ms Stacy the wrong idea when we depart the plane, and those numbers you managed to find link Director Roscoe to several illegal activities that should make it easy enough to make him stand down from the board. Should I ask sir? Or is this the part where I stick to running your position as CEO and not ask where you are providing my ammo from?" Peter grinned at her playful sarcasm before he poured the red wine he had specifically ordered from Southern Italy for his assistant.

"I think it is best if we don't ask too many questions, otherwise I may be forced to ask a few questions of my own, and I don't think you would enjoy that Ms Hardy..." The use of the woman's real name nearly made her drop her newly grabbed glass, thought Peter easily caught it and made sure she was okay before letting go himself.

One of the first things that had come up when Peter had started digging at Oscorp was that Harry's former assistant had come out of nowhere, and whilst her work resume on the company files was nearly perfect it didn't take too much pressure for him to find several glaring holes in 'Ms Harding's' life story. Once that happened it was easy enough to track down her real name, and Peter had to say he was impressed with the number of high value heists that had been reputed to her and her alias 'Black Cat', though how she had become Harry's assistant was something of a mystery.

"So, you know... I was wondering if whatever Private Eye you have digging up the dirt on the board members would do some digging on me as well. Should I be concerned that there are police waiting for us at the hangar?" Despite her initial shock Felicia seemed to be taking his revelation into her real identity very calmly, though given how some of the Interpol and FBI reports on Black Cat stated she had taken down more than 2 dozen men whilst completing jobs or evading capture Peter could somewhat understand, if he wasn't a genetically enhanced super hero she would have been able to take him down easily.

"Felicia, you really think that I would risk losing my most valuable employee over a few heists? That and Gwen would kill me for then having to do all your work myself and therefore not able to come and visit her so regularly?" Though he only cited the practical reasons for not exposing her, he hoped his friendly smile and relaxed stance conveyed his desire to not lose another friend as well.

Because that is what Felicia had become, the quick witted and highly competitive woman got on with him on a personal level almost as well as she did with Gwen, the two meeting on his first trip to England 4 months ago and bonding almost instantly. The fact that they bonded over having to deal with him and his 'quirks' was something Peter knew he was going to try and ignore in any future reiterations of what happened.

"No, but if that is your best attempt at sarcasm and misdirection Director Parker I am glad that you never try and hide anything about yourself, it would be so easy to spot that I bet even Harry would have noticed..." Her barb would probably have sent them into an awkward silence a few months ago, but now Peter merely smiled as he felt no small amount of smugness that Felicia didn't know quite how wrong she was.

"Did Harry know?" Felicia nodded shortly and a ghost of a tender smile crossed her face, highlighting the beauty she normally did her best to hide behind her professional demeanour.

"Of course he did, he was the one who offered me a position at the company... Which was doubly surprising given he caught me when I tried to rob his Dad's place after the old man's passing. I had been living rough for several weeks by that point, as it wasn't just law enforcement after me at that point, so I had actually broken in to get some food and a night's rest at a house I was certain would be empty." This was enough to cause Peter's eyebrow to rise, whilst Harry had hated his father he definitely wasn't what Peter would have called a 'white knight' that so often appeared in the movies.

"I know, he didn't strike me as the type at first either, but at that point I was starving and exhausted, so even if he had called the police on me I would have taken that for a bed and 3 straight meals. Given how often he talked about you Director one would almost think he had a thing for you, but given the way he often stared at me when he thought I wasn't looking I can't help but think it wasn't that, perhaps it was more that he aspired to be more like you as a role model than his father... Certainly most people wouldn't keep on a woman with a chequered past and a rumoured relationship with a murderer as their assistant..."

Huh, when she put it like that, no wonder Gwen had been so cautious initially when he had told her he was planning on keeping Felicia on as his assistant. Speaking of his girlfriend, Peter could see the blonde hair sticking out pointedly from the half a dozen dark clothed attendants that would be servicing his plane whilst he was here, giving a wave as she waved her arms enthusiastically.

"What can I say? I see the best in people... Coming with us to lunch Felicia? I imagine that Gwen will have missed you as much as she has missed me." Though the offer probably seemed a little out of the blue, Peter had already discussed this privately with Gwen, primarily because he knew if they didn't drag her away Felicia would spend the two days they were here working.

"I wouldn't want to impose sir, I know that Gwen doesn't get enough time with you as either of you wish, I will just carry on with these reports at the hotel..." Even as the stewardess moved to the door to open it and let the no doubt impatiently waiting Gwen inside, Peter chuckled and finished his drink with one final chug.

"Sorry Felicia, that probably sounded like a question, Gwen insisted we 'get you out of your stuffy work mode'..." The door opened and Peter stood as Gwen strode onboard, eyes locking with him and striding over as quickly as she could manage whilst not actually running.

"Peter..." As Gwen embraced him and kissed him with a passion that Peter had as a teenager only imagined he would encounter, Peter knew that Felicia had already given up fighting the lunch invite. When Gwen was truly determined about something, it was a very rare thing for either of them to refuse her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now, unless anyone wants me to particularly continue this fic, and can give me a good place to go with it, I plan on leaving it there. Gwen has gone to university in England, Peter is sorting out the corruption at Oscorp with the help of his assistant, and he has a private jet that he flies to England to see her every couple of weeks.
> 
> Will it end well for them, or will there be a similar attack on one of these plane trips that there was on his parent's flight? Who knows?
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this little AU, I know I did. Leave a review and let me know what you think guys.
> 
> Defias Out.


End file.
